My 2021 C63s coupe sat at the dealer for over a month, while it underwent a full transmission replacement. Throughout the process, Sewell MB of West Houston was nothing short of amazing. I received instant appointments both times I had to schedule my car to troubleshoot the issue. They gave me a loaner, and my SA was an extremely professional gentleman who gave me frequent updates.

My car was finally ready to pick up last Friday afternoon. I couldn’t make it there Friday so I picked it up on Saturday afternoon. The pickup went smoothly, they got me in and out in less than 10 minutes. I’ve been to this dealer 3-4 times prior with my C63s, and never once encountered an issue until now. I figured they see six figure cars for a living so they’re very well trained on how to care for them while repair work is being done. Was I ever wrong. I made the enormous mistake of not inspecting my car for damage before leaving their service center because of how trusting I had become from my past experiences. It’s a mistake that’s tough to swallow because they totally fk’d up my front bumper. I take meticulous care of my cars and other valuable personal property. Almost to the point where I have an obsessive compulsive disorder in that regard. My car went into their shop in absolutely flawless cosmetic condition save one tiny rock chip behind the rear passenger tire. Besides that almost invisible scratch, it was literally in showroom condition with just 4k miles on the clock.

I drove my car home from the dealer, parked it in my garage, and then took it to work today without incident. As I was leaving work, I noticed the damage. Not just one or two dings, but several. There’s on long 4-5” gash which went through the PPF and damaged the paint. There’s several more rips and tears in the PPF. The black plastic abov the lip also has a couple of gashes in it, which are difficult to see but they’re there. The rear diffuser above he exhaust tips also has a couple of similar gashes. My only conclusion is they didn’t take proper care getting it on and off the lift. They also left the black side roof/window trim peice snapped out of place. When I snap it back in, it easily pops back out so it looks like they broke a clip or two because the driver side trim is tightly snapped into place and doesn’t move if I try to remove it.

At this point, the entire front bumper PPF will have to be removed and replaced, and the gashes repaired. But being that this is magno diamond white paint, matching the paint won’t be easy. I’m extremely disappointed at the total lack of care they took with my like-new $100k car. They had to have known they damaged it, but deliberately didn’t inform me or do the right thing by taking responsibility for it.

I discovered the damage late today. I texted my SA immediately upon discovery so let’s see what his response will be tomorrow. I’m pretty sure they will say it could’ve happened after I picked it up. But if they do, the tech(s) who worked on my car and I know that’s total bullsh*t 😡.

 

Wow, I'd be furious. Did you take any photographs of the car before it went in for the transmission work? If not, you're going to be out of luck if the dealer refuses and say the damage occurred after you collected the car.

 

F*cken hell mate that dealer needs to fix it immediately. I would have drove straight to the place and said oi c*nts what did you do to the car?

What a fu**en shame that really p*sses me off I know how well you take care of your cars and you would never let this stuff just exist on your rides unnoticed and just so happen have it damaged after pick up.

 

Dont you dare allow them to get away with that...... f*ck them up man

 

Thanks for the support guys, I’m so angry I didn’t take any immediate photos before dropping off nor immediately afterwards​​​​. And for not inspecting it at the service center when they pulled up my car. I discovered the damage 2 days later. And yes, there’s no way I hell I would ever leave gashes like these unaddressed on my car. I nitpick at even the slightest spec of dust on my car. I’m so fk’in pissed right now!!!

 

They'd better make it right mate that's f*cken bullsh*t aye is there any way you can get to the dealership tomorrow and get answers? Bad enough your transmission was playing up now this? Remember you are a client. They damaged your car - you would not allege this unless it were true. If they start playing around while you are there you ask for that CCTV footage of when your car came in man and give them hell.

Please let us know what happens with this.

 

Don't your dealer take pictures of the car when you first bring it in for service?
If they did you can make them reference it .
Will show absolutely no damage.
My dealer always takes pictures of my car and everyone else that comes in for service.
I've made it a routine to do a 360 check and I also open the hood and check for anything not properly put back together or if they spill any liquids.
Before I leave the dealer.

 

Oh jebus! Hate to see this and have seen it many times over the years. I really hope you get the outcome you're looking for, it can go either way but lets hope it goes YOUR way! GL to you Sir.

 

Completely understand your frustration- I dropped off my car at MB Dallas two weeks ago and then also shredded the PPF under the bumper on the passenger side. I had pictures from the night before I dropped it off and didn't see it until a few days after I picked it back up because we had a lot of wet weather. I think it might be too late for me to contest anything against them since all the time has passed. I hope you're able to get some resolution on your end.

 

Really sorry to hear about that, I definitely feel your pain! I hope yours wasn't as bad as mine. There are some pretty deep gashes in the black plastic as well which I didn't take pics of, but they're clearly visible. This is the most recent pic I have of the front of my car, it was taken a few weeks before I dropped it off. I assure you, it went into their repair shop looking exactly like this. Unfortunately, I have no way of proving it unless they have security footage of me pulling into the shop and the camera can zoom in on my bumper to prove it arrived in pristine condition.

My SA did reply with an apology and told me to hang tight while they look into it, I'm not sure what they're doing in to look into it. Hopefully they took before pics of my car before they performed any work on it. However, they still have an out where they can claim the damage happened post pick-up. This really sucks!

 

Sorry to hear that. The SA should be doing a walkaround whenever you drop off the car and note any damages. If they didn't note any damages, then they basically acknowledge that it was free of damage when you dropped it off. Obviously not doing a walkaround yourself when picking up the car and immediately point out any damages puts the time the damage occurred in question. Definitely wonder what went down for all these damages to occur. Don't think that trim has to come out to replace the transmission. Are you positive that this damage couldn't have occurred in your work parking lot? I've had my previous car vandalized, so that's why I'm asking.

I did have a similar experience with my previous car being damaged at an Audi dealership. One of the techs attempted to squeeze a cart by my car and ended up in the fender. They immediately fessed up to it and my SA called me with the bad news. The PPF took most of the brunt, but it did punch through in one place. I stopped by to look at the damage and the service manager profusely apologized. They sent it to the BMW Collision Center nearby, which is also a certified Xpel installer and it all looked like new afterwards. I ended up taking my C63 there for the Xpel installation because they did such a great job.

I haven't had an issue with my current MB dealership. In fact everybody seems extra careful with my car. They love it and even the young staff that moves the cars around gives me complements and the last guy even told me he was extra careful moving the car around, because he loves it and made sure it doesn't get washed as I requested.

 

My dealership always takes a video when I pull in and records 360 around the car and does the same when I pick it up. I can also view video of mechanic doing the work in garage.
Good luck and hopefully they fix it.

 

This, My dealer takes pics of the car and a report of condition is filled out upon drop off. This is to protect the dealer. If they did not do this, its on them. Make sure you request this fixed off of the carfax system as well....

 

Sorry to hear that OP, hopefully things work out in your favour. My dealership uses something from a brand called BanaLogic (not sure why the brand is called that), hopefully yours too but getting them to show you their footage proving their fault is something...

 

My dealer has equipment that "scans" the car as you drive into the protected service/drop-off area. I'd suggest the first step is to talk to the SA and, if required, the service manager. Some dealers are very good about such things so I'd start (gently) by giving them the benefit of the doubt ... then adjust, if required. $:-)

 

Thanks for chiming in, superswiss. I’m 100% sure the damage didn’t occur at work. I park it in the 2 spaces right in front of my office window. I have a clear view of my car at all times. No one really walks by and no other cars ever park near me.

This is what my car looks like parked on a typical day if I do ever bring it to work:



This is the view of my parking spot, circled in red, from my office window.





As if things weren’t bad enough, I found another significant area of damage, 2 gashes in the rear diffuser. My rear diffuser was also in showroom condition when it went into their shop.



I’m glad to hear your dealer did the right thing by taking responsibility and fixing the damage they caused. The whole day went by without my SA getting back to me after sending me a text at 8:30am saying they’re looking into it. So let’s see if he responds tomorrow. I don’t know why they removed that trim piece. I’m assuming when they removed the hood, that piece might’ve still been in the way when they tried removing the drivetrain. All I know is it was popped out like and won’t stay securely snapped into place. This is just so damn frustrating…

 

Thanks, I hope my dealer had something like this in place. Their faculty is state of the art but I don’t remember seeing any such scanning device being used. I also hate that they always unplug my dashcam. But I think most dealers do this for liability reasons as BMW always unplugs my M6’s dashcam as well.

 

They shouldn't get away with this.

 

Any update? I would be super frustrated if I were in your position. If the dealership takes a hard line denying liability, PM me and I will provide you with a few points and arguments that may help your situation.

 

Man no one should be unplugging anyone's sh*t. In future you tell them NO UNPLUGGING ☝️

What's going on with the situation man? Tell us some good news

 

I'm interested in knowing why they unplug camera too. Do we need to start having hidden camera on these trips???

 

My SA just texted me this morning. They're claiming it didn't happen going on or off their lifts and want to know what solution I propose. It sounds like they're avoiding claiming responsibility.

By looking at the pics, does anyone have an idea of how this damage may have happened while in their shop? Because I'm 100% certain it wasn't there when I dropped it off and didn't happen between the time I picked it up and discovered the damage.

 

If I had to guess, looking at the first two images you posted, it could be they dropped a tool from their hands and it went straight down and caused that scratch and nick'd the gloss black lip.

 

*****As it says above, tool dropping, or car was near a tool or cart or something that got moved and scratched it. I had a car scratched badly by a mechanic with a huge Texas cowboy type belt buckle that he rubbed against a fender as he was working on the car.

Dunno why they unplug the camera(s).. My car has cameras front and back, and I'd be pretty pissed if they unplugged them.

Hopefully, you get some good news regarding all of this soon. I would be very pissed if it were my car as I obsessively clean and wax it, etc..

 

^^ Yes that was what I think is a good possibility as well. It looks like something was dropped vertically down my bumper and it cut through the PPF and into the paint. But there are also damages in 3 other places so I don't know how they managed to be so reckless.

My SA asked that I email him the repair estimates and he will work on trying to get them approved. I just sent them over. $930 for repainting the entire front bumper, and $687 to replace the Lumar PPF. So over $1600 in damages. Let's see what he comes back with.